Quartermasters of Conquest: The Mexican-American War and the Making of South Texas, 1846–1860. By Christopher N. Menking.

The article focuses on Christopher Menking's analysis of how U.S. supply networks during the Mexican-American War facilitated the economic dominance of Anglo Americans in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, despite their demographic minority status post-1848. Menking highlights the role of U.S. General Zachary Taylor's supply lines, which connected South Texas to northern Mexico and other U.S. regions, benefiting local merchants like Henry Clay Davis and Charles Stillman. The economic expansion led to a power shift away from Tejanos, as Anglo settlers capitalized on military contracts and established new industries, resulting in ethnic tensions exemplified by conflicts such as the Cart War of 1857. Menking's work contributes to the scholarship on the economic and social transformations in the South Texas/northern Mexico borderlands following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. [Extracted from the article]